Evidence, Evolution and the Existence of God

1. Evidence, Evolution and the Existence of God

2. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Psalm 19:1-3

3. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Psalm 14:1; 53:1

4. The Bible reveals that the world shows God’s handiwork and thus reveals His existence If this is true, should be able to see the evidence and determine the truth The Bible reveals that the evidence abounds and calls one a fool who does not correctly surmise that God is Is it the case that the heavens declare His glory? Let’s examine and see

5. Examine teleology (design) and eutaxiology (orderly arrangement) Teleology- design demands a designer (watch, car, paper clip) Eutaxiology- intricate orderly arrangement requires an “arranger” Look at creation from standpoint of these two principles and see if God is declared

6. Days 5 & 6 Genesis 1:20-31

7. And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening

8. and the morning were the fifth day. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,

9. and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is

10. upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 1:20-31

11. The fifth day of creation brought fish and fowl, the marvels of sea and sky Should the occupants of these two realms demonstrate chaos or a Creator? Design or disorder? If indeed “the heavens declare” and “the firmament showeth,” we should be able to see such

12. Consider the sea horse: Only fish that swims upright; poor swimmers Head and neck of a horse, swelling chest of a pouter pigeon, grasping tail of a monkey and color-changing ability of a chameleon Eyes move independently Males have kangaroo-type pouch into which female lays eggs

13. The young live on the male’s blood supply for about 45 days, after which male goes into labor and gives birth The only species on earth in which the male gets pregnant! An oddity for which evolution has no answer!

14. Consider the oyster: Oyster has no brain Feeds itself by pumping water through gills and trapping food particles Also captures calcium ions and formulates calcium carbonate to enlarge its shell as it grows Shell enlargements must be right 1st time- no means of correcting mistakes

15. While oysters have separate sexes, they may change sexes one or more times during their lifetime If an irritant gets into an oyster and is not quickly filtered out, the oyster produces nacre (from calcium and protein) and surrounds the irritant When finished, the object is no longer an irritant, and the result is a pearl

16. Consider the flounder: Born like any other fish- no unusual characteristics, lives near the surface As grows, begins to live deeper Undergoes a metamorphosis- one eye begins to shift to one side of body

17. When it is grown, both eyes are on one side and it lives on the bottom of the ocean floor Involves complex changes in soft tissue and skeletal bones Why not just born that way? Evolution has no answer!

18. Consider the electric catfish: Native to Africa; grows up to 4 feet in length and 50 pounds in weight Has ability to generate 100-400 volts of electricity from its body (enough temporarily to disable something the size of a horse or man) With its electric generator detects its prey and then paralyzes it

19. Also can shock its prey into disgorging its stomach contents, which it then eats Ancient Egyptians gave the Electric Catfish the name "he who has saved many in the seas," because when caught in a net with other fish, it would shock the fisherman, causing the net and the caught fish to fall back into the water

20. Like other fish with this ability (eels, rays, etc.), the mechanism for the production of electricity remains much of a mystery Why haven’t all fish “evolved” this ability?

21. Consider the Tilapia: Female Tilapia scoops a hole in the gravel river bottom with her mouth; lays some 80 eggs in the nest The male Tilapia fertilizes the eggs, then quickly scoops them all into his mouth He keeps them in his mouth until they hatch and are able to survive on their own (about a two-week period)

22. During this period he cannot eat and must survive on his own tissue Many species of fish eat their own eggs and fry; why not the tilapia? How did such a process ever “evolve?”

23. Consider the Anglerfish: Lives more than a mile deep in the ocean Has a structure growing out of its head that resembles a fishing rod At the end of the rod is a worm-like attachment that produces a light The light attracts fish, which are then eaten by the anglerfish

24. The anglerfish’s light poses a problem for evolution How would such an apparatus, partially developed, benefit the anglerfish? Also, the light itself is extremely complex, involving the compound Luciferin and the enzyme Luciferase

25. It is remarkable in that it produces no heat Tireless research has been spent on these two substances (Luciferase was found to contain more than 1000 proteins!), but still no one knows for certain how the light is made Evolution has no answer!

26. Consider birds: Bird bones are basically hollow (Why not with other animals?) Birds have neither teeth nor heavy jaw muscles Why haven’t other animals “evolved” such? Birds have gizzards which crush and help digest food Gizzard located lower and farther back in body than would jaw muscles and teeth

27. Consider the woodpecker finch: Uses a cactus needle or stick to poke out insects hiding in cracks and crevices When insect is dislodged, finch drops its tool and grabs its meal Woodpecker finches have been observed using the same cactus spine or stick, and also seen modifying them

28. Where did woodpecker finch get the knowledge to do such? Why not just “evolve” a longer or thinner beak as needed?

29. Consider the pelican: Has one of the strangest beaks in the business About a foot long, with a fleshy pouch on the bottom Scoops up fish and stores in its pouch until ready to eat

30. Also uses pouch to feed young (both male and female feed their offspring) After eating, it regurgitates into its pouch and the young eat out of it What bird would develop such an ability of its own accord? What haven’t other birds “evolved” such an ability?

31. Consider the woodpecker: Other birds have three toes pointing forward and one toe pointing backward; woodpeckers have two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward in order to clutch side of tree Have stout, sharply pointed beaks and extra long tongues that secrete a sticky substance to capture and hold insects

32. Woodpeckers can absorb shocks to their heads that would kill ordinary birds Hammer on trees at rate of 15-16 times per second Sudden impact against tree is 1000 times the force of gravity (250 times the force an astronaut undergoes when propelled by a rocket into space!) Has special shock absorbing system in its head

33. The beaks of other birds connect directly to their craniums The beak of the woodpecker is not connected directly to its cranium, but rather is separated by a sponge-like tissue that absorbs the shocks Scientists have proclaimed the shock-absorbing tissue far superior to anything man has ever invented Where did such amazing design originate?

34. Woodpeckers hammer on trees for four reasons: 1) To obtain food; 2) Mating calls; 3) Nest-building; 4) Store food Have ability to cut precise holes to store insects alive and be able to retrieve them later; dimensions must be exact or else the insect is killed or allowed to escape From where did such an ability come?

35. Consider the Water Ouzel: North America’s only aquatic songbird;a creature of three elements- land, air and water Floats on the water as “the most buoyant bird in all the records of ornithology” Dives like a lead sinker to the bottom and walks around searching for food

36. Has a special muscular apparatus that allows it to instantly exhaust all the air from its body and give it the weight needed to sink in swift water and stay down When it comes to the bank it fills its body with air and instantly regains both its buoyancy and its ability to fly The ability to fly in the air, float on the surface and dive and stay down in swift water requires design- and a Designer!

37. Consider the water spider: Builds its nest underwater, an airtight silk chamber In order to get air to its nest, to provide for its own needs and to supply its young, it spins an airtight “bell” in which it captures air; then it dives underwater and releases the air into its nest chamber

39. Consider the Bombardier Beetle: Has a unique means of defense Has two chemicals (hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide) stored in separate tubes near its tail How many beetles died trying to evolve and perfect this system? When threatened, it aims the tubes toward its enemy, mixes an anti-inhibitor with the two chemicals as they combine and projects the combination (always accurately) at its adversary with a loud pop at 212 degrees!

40. Consider bats: The only flying mammals, range in size from bumblebee to 6’ wingspan They do not have feathers, but rather a leather-like membrane that stretches between the fingers of their arms Bats’ legs are different from other mammals’ legs The bat’s knees are bent backward and when they land they actually do a flip and land upside-down

41. Roosting this way gives them the advantage of being able to cling to areas in caves that are hard for other animals to reach Being mammals, their young are born alive and nurse on their mother’s milk, all while the mother is hanging upside down Bats are not blind, as is supposed, but see quite well at night (and some even in the daylight)

42. Bats use a type of sonar called echolocation in order to find insects in the dark They send out high-pitched sounds that echo back to them when the sound waves hit an object Bat sonar excels anything our military has ever been able to produce Who made bats so different and equipped them so well?

43. Consider one of the strangest creatures in the world- the Duckbilled Platypus: The first scientists to examine one thought they were the victims of a hoax Best described as a hodgepodge of more familiar species: duck (bill and webbed feet); beaver (tail); otter (body and fur)

44. Males are also poisonous, having sharp stingers on the heels of their rear feet, using them to deliver a strong toxic blow to any foe This makes the platypus the only poisonous fur-bearing animal on earth Along with the echidna (spiny anteater of Australia), the platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs

45. Unlike other egg-layers, the young nurse from the mother, but not from conventional nipples The young lick the mother’s belly fur and the milk follows the hair to the mouths of the young Platypuses hunt underwater, where they swim gracefully by paddling with their front webbed feet and steering with their hind feet and beaver-like tail

46. Folds of skin cover their eyes and ears to prevent water from entering, and the nostrils close with a watertight seal, while it employs its sensitive bill to find food It is a bottom feeder, and scoops up insects and larvae, shellfish, and worms in its bill along with bits of gravel and mud from the bottom

47. All this material is stored in cheek pouches and, at the surface, mashed for consumption The duck-billed platypus is the evolutionist’s nightmare! The platypus does not have teeth, so the bits of gravel help it to "chew" its meal The webbing of its feet folds back in order for it to use its sharp claws to dig its burrow (which begins underneath the water)

48. Accidents? Or the work of a Divine Creator? The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork

50. Sources -”The Problem of Origins: Part 1”, Apologetics Press, Bert Thompson -Batsell Barrett Baxter, I Believe Because -Jonathan Sarfarti, Refuting Evolution -“The Existence of God (Part 1)”, Apologetics Press, Wayne Jackson -“The Existence of God (Part 2)”, Apologetics Press, Wayne Jackson “The Heavens Declare God’s Glory,” AP Article Reprint, Wayne Jackson -”The Truth About the Design of the Universe,” Apologetics Press, Brad Harrub -Various websites